We’ve seen wisdom’s credentials in Proverbs 8:22-31. Despite the historical controversy over whether Proverbs 8 is about Jesus, the New Testament clearly states that Jesus shares wisdom’s credentials.
- Seeking Jesus is seeking the Lord (John 14:9).
- Life without Jesus isn’t truly life (1 John 5:11-13).
- The way of Jesus is tried and true. Knowing Jesus makes the most sense of how the world works (Acts 17:22-31).
- Jesus gives you eyes to see who alone can make you happy (Mark 8:22-9:1).
Dale Calder (2009), Creative Commons
But do you believe it? What does your life communicate about whose credentials you’re willing to trust?
Seeking the Lord
In a day when spirituality is cool, we must be careful to remember that not every spirit is from God (1 John 4:1-6). If a spirit doesn’t confess that Jesus is the Christ, that spirit is not from God but is the spirit of the antichrist. Notice that false spirits do not always attack Jesus’ Messiahship; they prove to be in error even if they simply ignore Jesus or treat him as irrelevant.
So when the CEO of Starbucks returns to his post to return the company to its core values, this rescue from “spiritual” crisis is not done in true wisdom, regardless of what Oprah would have us think.
Do you want to know God? You must know Jesus. Do you want to speak of God? If you don’t speak of Jesus, you may actually have the wrong god.
Living Life
What can’t you live without? What thing, if you had it, would finally help you to stop worrying? What would cut your stress or give you rest and energy? What turns a bad day into a good day? What motivates you to do what you do?
The answers to these questions show what your life is. And though the answer should be Jesus, it usually is not.
Knowing Jesus is eternal life. Eternal = never ending. Everything else will come to an end some day. When it does, will you have any life left? Now is your chance to practice for that Day.
Making Sense
We’re always trying to make sense of things. We want to make sense of our suffering. We want to make sense of our work. We want to make sense of our relationships.
The teenage girl looks for sense when she asks, “Are we dating?” The middle-aged professional looks for sense when he wonders what he’s doing with his life. The common citizen looks for sense when he considers whether the nation’s highest leaders have even read the Constitution.
The ways of Jesus make the most sense. Of course, we’re wise when we obey them because they give him glory. But we’re also wise when we obey them because they’re the best ways. “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3, ESV). The one who loves both God and neighbor is no idiot.
Seeing Happiness
Please don’t misunderstand this one. The Bible does not promise that God will always make us happy, nor that God’s chief end is to serve our happiness. No, sometimes God must make us markedly unhappy in order to show us true happiness. Or more specifically, he must show us that the things that make us happy cannot always make us happy. This produces unhappiness.
But as he strips such things away time and again, he clears the way to the one thing that will never run out, shut down, move on, or empty up: Himself.
Thus, for example, while we grieve the loss of those who have died in Christ (1 Thess 4:13), our grief gains hope only when we remember that in the end “we will always be,” not with our loved ones, but “with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:17).
May the Lord Jesus Christ ever grant us more of this wisdom.
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